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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-31-2017, 03:45 PM
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I made this video after getting my M42 adapter stuck on my camera. Watching it may help you see how the little spring works and why it gets stuck.
You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NKW0EfL8JsE?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-31-2017, 11:28 AM
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Yes, they do come in handy for some purposes!
Steve
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-31-2017, 05:42 AM
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Anything with infinity focus will work. I use a random cheap Chinese adapter that I took the spring off of and just screw it onto the lens to make it a pseudo k mount lens ;)
Also "auto" m42 lenses will work, my sears zoom has the auto aperture pin without the notch and all you have to do is stick it down with something like a bit of pen ink tube or get it stuck in the lens so it acts like a fully manual lens.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-31-2017, 09:53 AM
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If you have a manual for the MX, it should have a paragraph or two on using M42 lenses with the adapter. The MX mount has an arm at about 2 o'clock that fits into a slot on a K-mount. That slot has a tab that moves with the lens's aperture ring. That's how the camera meter knows where the aperture ring is, so the meter gives the correct reading. The adapter is supposed to shove this arm over to about 4 o'clock when it's installed, so the meter is fooled into working correctly. So when you get the adapter, make sure it the right side notch in the adapter (opposite the flat spring) fits over that arm and moves it when the adapter rotates. I am not sure how well the MX meter functions with an M42 lens.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-31-2017, 10:24 AM
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I feel your pain. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to determine a quality 3rd-party adapter. The best advice I can give is to be wary of shoddy machining and to remove the retention spring. Most 3rd-party adapters do not properly engage the retention mechanism on the camera and may become stuck in the mount. Removing the spring solves this, but leaves the lens "unlocked" on the mount. Depending on the lens, you may be able to notch or drill the base to engage the camera's K-mount lock pin.
Yes, the diaphragm must be fully in a fully manual mode. For Helios 44, that means a version with pre-set diaphragm (44, 44-2, 44-3), one with the A/M switch (44M), or one that has been modified so the diaphragm is always manual.
As noted above, there are instructions in the MX manual. The short version is to simply put the lens in manual diaphragm mode and meter the shot as normal (stop-down metering). The basic flow goes like this:- Focus with lens wide open
- Stop lens down
- Adjust aperture and shutter speed for appropriate exposure with the built-in meter
- Take the shot
As you can see, this is cumbersome when doing multiple shots. It is easier with an A/M switch or a preset lens.
Steve
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-17-2017, 05:26 PM
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And just because it sounds like your almost done with the film, don't forget to push the button on the bottom before you rewind it.
You'll know if you forgot by the horrible shredding noise as you wind.
I may know someone who did that on his first roll...
-Eric
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-17-2017, 05:27 PM
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This is cool if one is using a Compur shutter.
It does not apply. The MX has a focal plane shutter where exposure is determined by the time between leading and trailing curtain release. (Both curtains travel at the same speed at all exposure settings.) The "slow" speed (1s - 1/30s) timing is done with a clock mechanism where each speed is half as many "ticks" as the next speed lower. At speeds greater than 1/30s on your camera, the timing is indirect by means of a mechanical escapement that sets the width of the slit between the two curtains. As a result, all speeds are discrete with no intermediate values possible. Edit: I am probably incorrect in regards to the "fast" speeds, based on some additional research.
Steve
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-16-2017, 02:26 PM
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Interesting question. I'd go with the others and say that half a stop difference shouldn't make too much difference on negative film, especially if you choose to overexpose. Depending on the lens and distance you focused on, half a stop of an aperture probably shouldn't really make a noticeable difference, either.
I was especially worried about dialing an "intermediate" shutter speed on my older cameras (as in folders with compur shutters and such) which don't have any hard stops on their shutter dials until I finally got one that came with a manual. It explicitly says that it's totally fine to set the dial anywhere and it will gradually change the shutter speed accordingly, as it's all connected to one spring, except for the fastest speed that engages an additional "booster" spring on that model. To use that speed, it should be made sure to never set the dial between that fastest speed and the second one.
No idea how and if that translates to the MX or other comparable cameras. If each shutter speed on a more advanced mechanical camera is connected to its own spring, I guess it should be avoided. Maybe someone who took the time to look at an exploded view of the MX or even took one apart could shed some light on it.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-16-2017, 03:30 PM
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Negative film gives you a second chance, but slide film wont.
Good luck with your MX. It was my first film camera too....although for me we are talking nearly 40 years ago. I still have it and it still works a treat, in fact i have just orderd some b&w film to give all my old film cameras an outing.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-16-2017, 09:58 PM
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There is no manual mechanical SLR that has intermediate shutter speeds. You can set the shutter speed in between, but you won't know what the shutter speed will be. Electronic shutter cameras may give you in between shutter speeds in automatic, but when you set the shutter speed manually there shutter speed is set by fixed resistors or contacts. Mechanical leaf shutter lenses have a cam that may allow that.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-16-2017, 10:08 AM
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The shutter in your MX is fully mechanical and does not support stepless speeds. Although I don't know if it will damage the shutter,* I would avoid shooting with the shutter dial between steps.
Steve
* With some shutters damage would be a sure thing for that case. The actual behavior (next lower speed, x-sync speed, or travel with no opening) of the MX shutter is hard to say without detailed knowledge of the mechanism.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 02:33 PM
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To add confusion to the situation another reason to lightly tighten the rewind knob so that when you advanced you could see the knob turn when advancing the film and everything was working as it should is multiple exposures.
My favorite back before the turn of the Century was the 3 finger multiple.
Turn &Snug the rewind knob and hold it with one finger - Press the release button with your thumb and crank the advance with your other finger and VOILA! the film has not moved and you are ready to double expose the same section of film. You could repeat as many times as you remembered space on the section of film. Today's K3 you could put up to 2000 exposures which would look kind of Busy. Hope I added to confusion.:)
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 01:36 PM
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Taking up slack is a good way to see that your film is actual being taken up as the rewind knob turns as you advance. The frame counter advances regardless if film is being advanced or not. (some of my older cameras, the frame count won't advance unless film is actually pulling the gear along. Sort of like in the argus C3 where the advance won't stop unless film is rotating the sprockets to a locking position which has to be manually released to move to the next frame )
---------- Post added 03-13-2017 at 04:39 PM ----------
;p had that happen once in a universal Mercury II, got past frame 65 (half frame, so 65 shots off a roll of 36) and was like wait a minute, I go to rewind and it's an extremely short rewind thinking maybe I snapped the end of the canister. Got into a dark box turns out the film never took up.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 12:12 PM
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That is actually a good thing to get into the habit of doing. All you're doing is taking up the slack inside the film canister. Don't force it...just wind it until you feel resistance. If you do this right after loading a new roll of film, then your rewind knob will turn every time you use your film advance lever and that will let you know if your film is advancing or not. You're new to film, but I guarantee you almost everyone who has ever shot film has had a roll that failed to load properly. Eventually, you get to frame number 38...39...40...and you wonder what's wrong before eventually figuring out that the film never advanced. :lol:
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 09:53 AM
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Not on my sp. I always tighten the film to the spool before I start winding on the leader, as a visual check that film transport is actually happening.
Accidentally touching the rewind knob isn't going to rewind anything. If you open the rewind crank and apply considerable force, you can break the film, and/or damage the mechanism. So don't do that. :lol:
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 09:18 AM
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The rewind knob will always be loose because the film inside the cartridge tends to align itself to the wall, while the spool is in the center, like a spiral spring.
If you turn the knob in the rewind direction, you'll pick up the slack and align the film around the spool, if you let go, it will return to the former position.
Don't try this though, because rewinding the film like that might cause scratches, because of friction between the windings.
If you continue to rewind forcibly after picking up the slack, then you'll eventually damage the perforation of the film, ripping it backwards, because the film transportation roller is locked (pressing the rewind button will uncouple it, that's what you do to rewind).
TLDR: it's normal that the knob is loose, just ignore it and don't play around with it unnecessarily ;-)
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 09:05 AM
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All you do by cranking backwards is to take up some og the slack of the film inside the canister. The part of the film behind the shutter doesn't move.
As Robin CB said, you can't move the film backwards unless you press the release button in the bottom of the camera.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
03-13-2017, 08:58 AM
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Based on my experience with a ME Super & a MV you should be OK as long as you haven't pressed in the (very small) release button on the base of the camera.
Edit for early incomplete submission.
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